This invention relates to electrical floor-treating devices.
More particularly, this invention concerns adapters for connecting a floor-treating device to an operating appliance.
It is known in the art to provide a floor-treating device, for example a vacuum cleaner, with an adapter to connect this device to an operating appliance. Usually, such an adapter establishes both electrical and air communications between the above-mentioned elements. The electrical wiring can be installed in a passage which is separated from an air-conduit passage (see for example German Pat. No. 1,291,066). The adapter is mounted with one of its ends on the operating appliance and is free to pivot only about one axis. Such a construction has the disadvantage that the adapter does not have liberty to rotate about two mutually perpendicular axes.
Usually, such a construction includes a first member mountable on the floor-treating device and a second member having one end connectable to the first member and the other end engageable with the operating appliance. The first member is provided with passages extending almost to the end of this second portion of the adapter. Such a construction makes it almost impossible to positively solve the problem of rotating the second and first portions relative to one another since the passages, during rotation, would most likely become obstructed by the electrical wires. Such situation is especially likely to occur since in such an arrangement there is used a rigid, inflexible type of electrical wire.
Another disadvantage of such an arrangement is that there has to be provided a separate closure for covering the area of contact between the electrical wires and their terminals.
Still another disadvantage of such an arrangement is the complicated task of leading the rigid, inflexible wires through the passage in the adapter and then to bend the wires by 90.degree. to lead them further to the terminal board.